Water stop



May 17, 1960 LEROY F. HARZA ALSO KNOWN AS LEROY FRANCIS HARZA WATER STOP3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Feb. 1, 1950 Mmdb z May 17, 1960 LEROYF. HARZA 2,937,065

' ALso KNOWN As LEROY FRANCIS HARZA May 17, 1960 OY F. HARZA A o KNOWN ALEROY FRANCIS HA WATER STOP 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed Feb. 1, 1950.mted States WATER STOP Leroy F. Harza, also known as Leroy FrancisHarza,.

Continuation of applications Serial No. 141,811, February 1, 1950, andSerial No. 276,200, March 12, 1952. This application January 9, 1956,Serial No. 558,175

12 Claims. (Cl. 72-106) This invention is concerned with a water stop orseal for locking together adjacent sections of concrete or the like toprevent seepage of water therebetween.

This application forms a continuation of two previous applicationsco-pending herewith, said applications being Serial No. 141,811, filedFebruary 1, 1950, by Leroy F. Harza, for Joint Seal and now abandoned,and Serial No. 276,200 filed March 12, 1952, by Leroy F. Harza, forWater Stop and now abandoned.

Large concrete structures are built in sections, or pours, determined bysuch factors as the amount of concrete a crew can pour in a day, thestrength of forms that can be built within reasonable practicalconsidera- 'tions such as size and cost, theshrinkage to be expected ina given mass of concrete upon setting, and other factors.

The shrinkage of concrete attendant upon the setting thereof causesopening up of the joints between successive sections or pours. If thestructure is a dam, reservoir, swimming pool, sewage plant, foundationwall, or other structure adapted to contain or to hold out water, waterwill leak through the opened joints between the pours unless water stopsare used. It will be appreciated that there would be a substantialamount of seepage even if the joints did not open up. I

Prior to the invention of the water stop herein disclosed it wasconventional practiceto form water stops as diaphragms extendingtransversely across a joint between pours and embedded in the oppositepours. Such diaphragm type water stops generally have been made ofrubber or copper. They have long been known, and have been subject toserious drawbacks. Most such diaphragm type water stops requiresplitting the wooden form into which the concrete is to be poured.Theform thus must be specially braced so that the water stop canprotrude from the pour in that form into the area where the next pourwill be made. This involves costly carpentry. Furthermore,installationof a diaphragm type water stop in such a form requiresconsiderable skill and a large expenditure of time.

Other diaphragm type waterstops have folding fins which must be bent outinto place after the first form is removed. This requires added laborand increases the cost. Furthermore, at least in the case of copperwater stops, the section which is flexed back and forth during suchinstallation is seriously weakened, and this section is exactly wherethe water pressure must be resisted.

A further extreme disadvantage is found in diaphragm type water stops.Obviously, the water stops must extend a sufiicient distance into thepours of concrete to be securely embedded therein. However, the waterstops must be fairly thin in order to have the requisite flexibility towithstand relative shifting of the adjacent concrete pours or masses,and there is therefore a very substantial danger that when concrete ispoured into the form the fluid concrete will fold over the water stop.This, of course, prevents proper embedding of the water stop in theconcrete. This problem is even more severe in the form of water stophaving a folding fin in that the fin is likely to be knocked out ofposition by the pouring of concrete, and might becomesutficientlyembedded in the concrete as to prevent straightening out of the fin forembedding in the next successive pour.

It is an object of this invention to provide a water stop which fitsentirely inside the form for the first pour, and which is quickly nailedinplace and requires no split form or other expensive carpentry forinstallation.

It is another object of this invention to provide a water stop whichprovides a tortuous seepage path.

A more specific object of this invention is to provide a water stophaving a web lying in the joint between adjacent pours of concrete andhaving a plurality of ribs extending fromeach face of the web into theadjacent pour of concrete with the ribs in spaced parallel relation andparallel to the liquid confining face formed by the adjacent pours ofconcrete.

In accordance with the principles of this invention, a seal according tothe prior objects is extruded of polyvinyl chloride plastic. Thismaterial iresembles rubber, but lasts far longer. It resists temperaturechanges and chemical. action of concrete, and further resists acids andalkalies, and other deleterious substances found around concrete, suchas in sewage disposal plants or in industrial plants. Sections of thematerial readily can be welded together with the use of a hot knife oran ordinary torch, no special welding equipment being needed.

' Yet another object of this invention'is to provide a method forinstalling a water stop, especially the water stop constructed inaccordance with the foregoing objects of this invention.

Other and further objects and advantages of the .present invention willbe apparent from the following description when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a section of a water stop constructed in .accordance with theprinciples of this invention and shown in cross section and perspective,the form of the invention shown in Fig. 1 being preferred, where rathersubstantial separation of adjacent pours is to be expected;

Fig. 2' is a view similar to Fig. 1 of a form of the invention preferredwhen little separation is to be expected;

.Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectionalview showing the installation of thewater stop in a form with the first pour of concrete applied in theform;

I Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 3 after removal of the formand pouring of the second mass of concrete;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the installation in a formand theformation of a pour in conjunction witha slightly modified formof the water stop;

7 Fig. 6 is a view generally similar to Fig. 3 and showing a modifiedform of the water stop and a slightly modified version of the form;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 4 showing the water stop of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is another view similar to Fig. 4 showing yet another form ofwater stop; V Fig. 9 is a view similar to Fig. 8 showing a water stopgenerally similar to Fig. 8 but modified somewhat there: Irom;

Fig. 10 is another view generally similar to Fig. 8 and showing a ofFig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 10 showing the parts with the jointopened up;

Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustrating the installation of the waterstop disclosed herein; j

Fig. 13 is a cross sectional view of the water stop with adjacent poursof concrete subjected to moderate separation such as might be expectedin use;

further modified form of the water stop aaazoee Fig. 14 is a viewsimilar to Fig. 13 with extreme separations; and

Fig. 15 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to a portion of eitherFig. 13 or Fig. 14 showing the tighten ing of the seal upon separationof the adjacent pours of concrete.

Referring now in greater particularity to the drawings, and first toFig. 1, there may be seen a section of a water stop generally designatedby the numeral 20. The water stop comprises a web 22. This Web isdesigned to lie in the joint between a. pair of adjacent masses ofconcrete as hereinafter will be brought out. The web generally isnarrower. than the corresponding masses of concrete (it often is muchnarrower), although it is within the contemplation of the invention thatthe web might be as wide as the concrete masses. in the specific form ofthe invention shown in the drawings the web is on the order of fourinches in width, although the width may be substantially less than this,or might be as great as several feet. The length of the web generallywould be measured in feet, and most conveniently would probably be atleast a hundred feet for large installations. A plurality of spaced ribs24 projects from each of the opposite faces of the web. The ribs areparallel to one another and are spaced across the faces of the webs. The.ribs extend longitudinally of the web and are substantially coterminoustherewith. Each of the ribs 24 includes a shank portion 26 joined to theweb at a root 28, said root preferably being filleted. At the outer endof each rib there is provided a bulbous portion 30 having convexundersurface portions or shoulders 32, the tops or outer surfaces of theribs being substantially flat as at 34, although the surfaces preferablyare slightly rounded into the shoulders 32.

The outermost ribs both are on the same side of the web, and the convexundersurfaces or shoulders on the outer sides thereof are replaced bynailing flanges 36. The nailing flanges preferably are provided withlongitudinal grooves 38 for facilitating insertion of nails, and theouter edges preferably are beveled as at 40, the beveled edges taperingout from the board engaging surfaces 42 toward the outer surfacesincorporating the nailing grooves 38.

Although the dimensions of the various parts of the water may varywithin wide limits, certain relative dimensions are of extremeimportance, and might be regarded as being critical. Such relativedimensions more readily will be understood following description ofinstallation of the water stop, and the relative dimensions thereforewill be set forth shortly, following a description of installation ofthe water stop.

It is preferable that the water stop be extruded as an integral unit ofpolyvinyl chloride, although it is contemplated that other methods offabrications, and possibly other materials might be used.

The foregoing embodiment of the water stop is a preferred one whenrather large separation of the adjacent concrete masses is to beexpected, the reasons for this being fully set forth hereinafter. Whenlesser separation, for example not more than one-sixteenth inch, is tobe anticipated, then the form of the invention shown in Fig. 2 is to bepreferred. The water stop a in Fig. 2 is generally similar to that shownin Fig. 1, and similar numerals are used to identify similar parts withthe addition of the suffix a. The water stop 20a includes a web 22a ofgenerally the same dimensions heretofore noted. Ribs 24a extendlongitudinally of the web in spaced apart parallelismand on oppositesides of the web. The ribs differ in cross section from those of theembodiment of Fig. 1, being generally dovetailed in section. They aresimilar to the ribs of Fig. 1 in that they are narrowest at their roots23a where they are joined to the web, and they are of maximum dimensionsubstantially at the outer edges thereof as at 32a. The water stop ofFig. 2 is provided with nailing flanges 4 36a having beveled outer edges40a and having board engaging surfaces 42a. The water stop of Fig. 2 isprovided over its entire surface with longitudinally extendingcorrugations 44. These corrugations afford locking with the concretepoured about the water stop, and further provide an increased lengthtortuous seepage path as hereinafter will be brought out. It will beapparent that no nail receiving grooves are necessary in the nailingflanges of the water stop of Fig. 2 in view of the corrugations whichhelp to position and receive the nails.

An important feature of both forms of the invention heretofore shown anddescribed, and worthy of a special notice, is the fact that the ribs onopposite sides of the webs are offset or staggered. The importance ofthis staggered arrangement of the ribs will be set forth hereinafter inconnection with the installation and use of the water stop.

Installation of the Water stop is illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 12. Aform 46 of simple construction is erected. The form includes a pair ofspaced walls 48 and 50 of conventional construction, preferablycomprising a plurality of boards having reinforcing timbers securedagainst the outer surfaces thereof, and adequately braced. The form alsoincludes an end wall 52 which also preferably comprises a board or aplurality of boards. The end wall may be set inside the side walls as inFig. 3, or may be abutted across the ends of the side walls as in Fig.12. The water stop 20 (or any other form thereof) is supplied in theform of a roll or coil indicated at 54, and is uncoiled against the endwall 52. When the form is a rather narrow one as in Fig. 3, the waterstop 24 is installed before the second side wall 50 is erected, thisside wall therefore being shown in phantom in Fig. 12. However, in otherinstances the end wall 52 may be quite wide asis shown in phantom inFig. 12, and in this instance the second side wall 50 may be erectedbefore the water stop is applied. In dam construction, it will beunderstood that the form might well be a great many feet in width, andaccordingly the form can be completely erected, and a man can climb intoit to install the water stop.

All that is necessary to install a water stop is to unroll the waterstop against the end wall 52 with the board engaging surfaces 42engaging the end wall, and the outer ends or surfaces 34 of theintermediate ribs on the same side as the nailing flange likewiseengaging the end wall 52. Nails 56 are driven through the nailingflanges at spaced intervals, such as every foot or so, into the endwall. The nails are not driven all of the way in, but are leftprojecting an inch or two so that the nails will be embedded in theconcrete and will not impose any strain on the water stop when the formis pulled away from the concrete, 'water stop, and nails. For thispurpose, it is convenientto utilize double headed nails of a well knowntype.

After completion of the form and installation of the water stop in themanner described, concrete 58 is poured into the form, and is vibratedinto place in accordance with conventional practice, the-concreteforming fingers 60 between adjacent ribs. Although the spacing betweenribs generally may be on the order of about an inch, sometimes more orless, it has been found in practice that there has been no trouble withvoids caused by coarse aggregates which will not enter intorthe spacesbetween the ribs. After the poured concrete 58 has set sufficiently intoa more or less rigid mass, the form 46 is removed, simply by tearing itaway from the concrete. The nails 56 are held by their heads embedded inthe concrete, and thus no strain is imposed by the nails on the waterstop. Furthermore, the beveled edges 40 of the nailing strips help tohold the nailing strips in proper embedded position in the concrete. Asecond form (not shown) then is erected at the end of the first pour ormass 58 of concrete. The second form has a pair of side walls, but hasno end wall. Accordingly, when a second pour or mass anemone J 62 ofconcrete is poured within the second form it will flow against the endof the first pour and into the spaces between the confronting ribs ofthe water stop, forming concrete fingers 64 interlocked with the ribs.Although such has not been shown, it sometimes is the practice toprovide steel reinforcing rodsextending across the joint 66 between theconcrete pours or masses.

Ideally, the masses of concrete remain substantially in contact as inFig. 4. However, a certain amount of opening up of the joint 66' is .tobe anticipated .upon setting and curing of the concrete. The jointfurther may be opened by physical forces, such as water behind a damtending to how the dam slightly outwardly. In this case, the ribs 24remain firmly embedded in the concrete, and the web 22 assumes a zigzagshape as is shown in Fig. 13. With the joint in substantially closedposition as in Fig. 4, it is possible for'water to tend to seep from oneface 68, forming a broad liquid confining or working face, through thejoint to the opposite face 70 along a tortuous path as indicated by thearrows 72. This path lies between the concrete and the water stop, andit will be observed that this path is extremely long relative to thedistance between the faces 68 and 70. 'When the joint '66 opens up as inFig. 13 the water more readily can pass from the face 68 to face 70through the open spaces between the concrete masses. However, thetortuous path around the water stop and between the water stop andconcrete remains substantially the same as before, and hence there issubstantially no seepage througe the joint. As is indicated by the scale74 in Fig. 13 the joint is opened up about one-half inch, and this is amaximum to be expected in most practical operating conditions.

Tests on the joint have been conducted with separations or opening up ofthe joint ofas much as one and onehalf inch (Fig. 14) without failure ofthe joint. The seepage path still remains tortuous around the ends ofthe ribs 24, and the tortuous nature of the paths is increased by thebulbous portions at the outer extremities of the ribs.

The bulbous portions or enlargements at the outer ends of the ribs, whencombined with the shanks 26 of the ribs, provide a very importantfunction. Thus, as shown in Fig. 15, when the joint 66 opens up and theWeb 22 is pulled into a zigzag shape, the shank 26 draws down or necks,particularly in the vicinity of the root 2.5 of the rib. Thus, there islittle if any retaining force between the concrete fingers tl, 64 andthe ribs shanks As a result, the undersurfaces or shoulders 32 of therib end portions 30 are wedged with great force against thecorresponding portions of the concrete fingers 6t), 64, particularly inthe area indicated at 76. Consequently, an unusually effective seal iseffected at the areas 76. A much tighter seal is made at this positionthan is possible by mere casting of the concrete about any type of waterstop.

It will be understood that opened up joints of the type discussed abovemay sometimes reclose. For in stance, if a reservoir or the like isdrained for cleaning, the force of the water tending to open the jointwill be gone. The water stop herein shown and disclosed simply returnsto its initial position upon such reclosing. Subsequent openings andreclosings can he continued indefinitely without harm to the water stopor to the cooperating sections of the concrete masses.

Now that the installation and operation of the Water stop have beenfully set forth, the significance of the important or critical relativedimensions set forth hereinafter will be appreciated- For one thing, theheight of the ribs, measured from the surface of the web outwardly fromthe surface of the web, is always substantially equal to the spacingbetween the ribs. Although the maximum and minimum spacing between theribs in the embodiment heretofore shown and described are suflicientlyclose to one another than either spacing may be taken for ageneralization, it is specifically preferred that the height of the ribfrom the surface of the web to the point where the rib reaches itsmaximum width should be equal to the spacing between the ribs at thatpoint. This is of importance fromseveral 'standpoints. For one thing,tensile and bending strength of concrete is not very great compared tothe compressive strength of concrete. If the .ribs were to be made highrelative to the spacing between them, then the concrete fingers would betoo long for their widths, and would crack 013? due to tension ordifferential forces. On the other hand, if the ribs were made tooshallow relative to their spacing, a .poor seal would result, and theribs would pull out of the concrete. Furthermore, if the rib-s werespaced apart a great distance relative to the height of the ribs, theweb between adjacent ribs would bow toward the end wall of the form uponpouring of the fluid concrete against the water stop. It will beapparent that the height of each rib is lessthan the width of the web.

The thickness of the ribs is important. More particularly, the thicknessat the root, or across the shank when the side walls of the shank areparallel, is substantially equal to the thickness of the web. Thisthickness also is less than the thickness of the enlarged portion ofeach rib remote relative to the web. The height of each rib I is greaterthan either thickness. A relatively thick root or neck would wastematerial, and would not neck or draw down properly 'upon opening up ofthe joint. A relatively thick Web would prevent zigzagging of the web,and zigzagging of the web is necessary to relieve tensional strains onthe concrete which otherwise would result in failure of the concretefingers. In addition, a web of insufiicient thickness would deflect whenthe first pour was made, while ribs of insuflicient thickness woulddeflect to one side during the pouring of concrete, and the ribsconsequently would not become properly embedded in the concrete.

It will be appreciated that the water stop must be sufficiently flexibleto allow zigzagging ofthe web in the manner heretofore described, and tothis end ribs on opposite sides of the web are both offset and laterallyspaced. Furthermore, the web must be sufliciently stiff to preventfolding over or other displacement of the ribs during pouring ofconcrete. This is principally eifected by the relative dimensions justset forth, regarding the height and spacing of the rims, and regardingthe thickness of the ribs and the web. In addition, the substantialequality and thickness of the rib roots and the web materiallysimplifies extrusion of the water stop.

Various modifications of the water step are shown in the remainingfigures of the drawings. Thus, in Fig. 5 the parts are substantiallyidentical with those in Figs. 1 and 3. Accordingly, similar numerals areused to identify similar parts, the numerals having the suflix b addedto them. The water stop 20b remains identical with that of Fig. 1 exceptthat the last pair or outermost pair of lower ribs are omitted, and thenailing flanges 36b lie in the same plane as the web 22b, rather thanbeing displaced from the web as in Figs. 1 and 3. A slightly modifiedform is used in this instance. The form still includes the side walls48b and 50b, and an end wall 52b, but in addition the form includes apair of nailing strips '78 atfixed to the end wall 52b in spacedrelation. The nailing flanges 36b lie flush against the adjacentsurfaces of the nailing strips 78, and the nails 58b are passed throughthe flanges into the nailing strips 78. The jointbetween adjacent pour-swith this form of the invention lies almost coplanar with the web,rather than with the outer ends of the ribs on one side of the web.

Afurther modification of the water stop and of the form are illustratedin Fig. 6. The parts generally are similar, and are identified with thesame numbers asiused heretofore with the addition of the sufiix c. InFig. 6 the water stop 20c again comprises a web 22c .adaptedto lie inthe joint, and a plurality of spaced, parallel .ri-bs 24c on each facethereof. The ribs in this instance comprise generally cylindrical orrod-like outer portions joined to the web by short shank or neckportions 26 Although the cross section thus is changed somewhat inappearance, it will be appreciated that the relative dimensions areretained, i.e. the shanks or neckportio'ns are substantially as thick asthe web, and the minimum spacing between the ribs is substantially asgreat as the height of the ribs to that posit-ion. The water stop isprovided with offset nailing flanges 36c, and in this instance the outerends of the nailing flanges are not beveled. The outer ends of thenailing flanges butt against confronting edge portions of spacer strips78c secured to the end wall 52c of the form 460, the form againincluding side walls 48c and S00. Portions of the form 89 used in makingthe second pour are shown in Fig. 7 in conjunction with the first pour58c of Fig. 6. The offset relation of the nailing flanges and the spacerstrips 780 cause the web 220 to lie substantially in the plane of thejoint 66c. As is indicated at 82 there may also be steel reinforcingrods extending through the joint to limit separation thereof.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 8 a major change hasbeen wrought. The method of application and the forms therewith remainsubstantially the same as heretofore shown and described. Specifically,the nailing flanges 36d lie substantially in the plane of the web, and aform such as that shown in Fig. would be used. The ribs 24d areidentical with those used in Figs. 6 and 7. The great difference lies inthe web 22d, which comprises a folded over membraneproviding a pair ofsheets 82 interconnected along one edge by an integral thickened,bulbous portion 84. The sheets open toward the liquid confining surface68d, and it is of importance to note that concrete sections or fingers86 lie between the bulbous portion of the web and the rear or outer face70d of the concrete masses. The tortuous seepage path previously notedstill is maintained about the outer surfaces of the water stop, whileprovision for separation is made through flexing and straightening outof the folded over bulbous portion 84. The fingers or backing upsections 86 of concrete prevent distension and rupture of the bulbousportion due to water pressure.

The Water stop 20a of Fig. 9 is identical with that of Fig. 8, exceptthat the nailing flange 362 on the bulbous portion 842 is positioned soas to be coplanar with the space between the sheets 82a of the Web.Obviously, this will require a very slight modification of the nailingstrips of the form.

The water stop 2% of Fig. 10 is similar to those of Figs. 8 and 9,except that the nailing flanges 36 are offset from the plane of the web,whereby the strip can be aflixed simply against an end board such as inthe form of Fig. 3, without the necessity of any nailing boards. Thetortuous seepage path remains the same, as does the flexing or unfoldingcharacteristic of the strip upon separation of the joint. The backupprojection or finger 86 of concrete again prevents distension andrupture of the bulbous portion 84 of the strip.

Fig. 11 shows the water stop of Fig. 10 with the joint 66 opened up,showing how the folded over or bulbous portion 841 pulls in or flexes toallow such opening up without imposing any substantial strain on theribs of the water stop, or the interlocking concrete fingers of theadjacent concrete masses 58 and 62].

From the foregoing, it will be seen that an improved water stop andmethod of installing the same have been disclosed. The water stopprovides a tortuous seepage path which is not provided by any otherwater stop. Considerable opening up of a joint can be tolerated withoutdisturbing the anchorage of the water stop, and without impeding theliquid confining ability thereof. The Water stop is quickly and easilyinstalled without the necessity of special forms or expensive carpentryor installation techniques. In fact, installation has been found in thefield to be so rapid that the cost of installation is negligible. On theother hand, with conventional diaphragm type water stops the expense ofinstallation can be expected to run well over one dollar per foot. Thewater stop can be extruded for a price substantially the same as, oronly slightly greater than simple diaphragm type water stops. It ischeaper than certain special types of water stops. Accordingly, wellover a dollar per foot can be saved by the use of the water stop hereinshown and described. When it is considered than tens of thousands offeet of water stop will be used in constructing a single darn, it willbe appreciated that the savings in time and money through the use of thewater stop herein disclosed and claimed are literally incredible.

It is to be noted that the material of the water stop is solid orhomogeneous throughout. This makes for ready extrusion of the waterstop, and also imparts high tensile strength to the water stop. It willbe appreciated that fillers of foamed construction as used in other artswould not be capable of resisting the tensile forces that the novelwater stops herein disclosed and claimed are adapted to withstand.

' Shipping and handling of the water stop are relatively simple sincethe water stop can be rolled into a coil as has been discussed withregard to the installation, see Fig. 12. It is true that substantiallyflat, diaphragm type water stops also can be coiled, but the advantagesand distinctions of the new water stop relative to such diaphragm typewater stops have been brought out heretofore. Various special shapes orforms of water stops as heretofore developed and allegedly possessingcertain advantages not found in diaphragm type water stops ofconventional design generally are not capable of being folded into aroll in the simple manner contemplated by this invention.

The specific examples of the invention as herein shown and described areto be understood as being for illustrative purposes only. Variouschanges in structure will no doubt occur to those skilled in the art,and are to be understood as forming a part of the invention insofar asthey fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

1. A substantially water-tight structure of masonry material comprisinga pair of adjacent masses of such material presenting a broad liquidconfining working face and having a joint between said massessubstantially perpendicular to said face, and an integral water seal ofplastic material sealing said joint, said seal comprising a web lyinggenerally between said masses in said joint and substantiallyperpendicular to said face, said web comprising a pair of sheetsintegrally joined in a bulbous portion along one pair of correspondingedges, the other pair of corresponding edges being free, the bulbousportion being remotely disposed to said working face relative to saidfree edges, the material of at least one of said masses lying behindsaid bulbous portion relative to said working face to prevent swellingand bursting of said bulbous portion under water pressure, and aplurality of ribs on said web embedded in the material of said masses,the longitudinal axes of said ribs extending parallel to said workingface.

2. A substantially water-tight structure of masonry material as claimedin claim 1, wherein there are provided laterally extending nailingflanges integral with and disposed longitudinally on opposite sides of.the water seal.

3. A water seal for the joint between the poured masonry material of apair of adjacent masses of such material presenting a broad liquidconfining working face, and comprising an integral strip of flexiblematerial for sealing said joint, said seal comprising a web lyingbetween said masses of said joint and substantially perpendicular tosaid face, said web being coextensive in enemaslength with the joint,and a plurality of elongated ribs on opposite sides of said joint, saidweb being ofJaZlen'gth substantially greater than the width thereoftransversely of said ribs, said ribs being coextensive in length withsaid web and each rib including a neck joined to said web and anenlargement at the end of said neck remote from said web, said ribsprojecting from the web a distance less than the width of the web andrelatively closely spaced across the width of the web, and beingflexible with the web upon relative separation of the masses but havingsufiicient inherent rigidity to extend into the poured material withoutfolding thereof during pouring of the material and to be retainedtherein upon transverse joint separation, the longitudinal axes of saidribs extending substantially parallel to said working face whereby saidweb and said ribs provide a tortuous seepage path between said waterseal and said masses, and nailing flanges integral with the web andpositioned along the longitudinal edges thereof, said nailing flangeslying in a substantially common plane offset from the plane of said weband adapted for securing to a form during pouring of the material forsealing a group of ribs on one side of the web against the materialbeing poured alongthe other side of the web.

4. A water stop of flexible material comprising an elongated web adaptedto lie in a joint between adjacent masses of poured masonry material andhaving a pair of opposite faces adapted to engage such masses, and aplurality of ribs integral therewith, said ribs lying in the directionof the length of said web and being longitudinally substantiallycoextensive therewith, there being a plurality of parallel ribs inspaced relation to one another on each of said faces and adapted toextend into masses 8. A structure as set forth in claim 7 wherein theheight of each rib is substantially equal to the spacing between theribs, and wherein the thickness of each neck is substantially equal tothe thickness of the web.

'9. The process of joining a pair of adjacent poured masses of masonrywith a water seal of flexible material comprising a web and a pluralityof longitudinally extending ribs on each side thereof, said ribs beingcoextensive in length with said web and each rib having a neck joined tothe web and an enlargement at the end of the neck remote from said web,said process comprising erecting a form having a plurality of verticalwalls for receiving one of said masses, securing such a water seal invertical position against one vertical wall of said form with the ribson one side of said web butting against said one wall and the web spacedfrom said one wall and the ribs on the other side projecting into thespace within said form, said ribs lying parallel to and said web normalto a wall defining an intended liquid confining face of said masses,pouring masonry material in fluid condition into said form against saidweb and between the ribs projecting into the space between the ribs toform said first mass with the water seal partially embedded thereinwhile maintaining the web spaced from said one wall, removing said formafter solidifying of said first mass, erecting a second form openingagainst the first mass and the water seal partially embedded therein,pouring masonry material in fluid condition into said second formagainst the first mass and against the web and between the ribspreviously butting against the wall of the first form to form the secondmass with the water seal partially embedded therein, and removing thesecond form after solidifying of said second mass.

width is substantially equal to the spacing between ribs I at thatpoint.

6. A water stop as set forth in claim 4 wherein the thickness of eachrib neck is substantially equal to the thickness of said rib.

7. A substantially water-tight structure of poured masonry materialcomprising a pair of adjacent masses of such material presenting a broadliquid confining working face and having a joint between said massessubstantially perpendicular to said face, and an integral water seal offlexible material sealing said joint, said seal comprising a web lyingbetween said masses in said joint and substantially perpendicular tosaid face, said web being coextensive in length with the joint, and aplurality of ribs on opposite sides of the joint extending into saidmasses, said ribs being coextensive in length with said web and each ribincluding a neck joined to said web and an enlargement at the end ofsaid neck remote from said web, the ribs on opposite sides of the jointbeing laterally spaced in offset relation whereby the web is flexed intoa zigzag shape upon separation of the masses 10. The process of joiningpoured masses of masonry material as set forth in claim 9 wherein thestep of securing the water seal to the wall of the first form comprisesdriving nails part way through the water seal into said wall whereby theheads of the nails become embedded in the first mass.

11. The process of joining poured masses of masonry material as setforth in claim 10 wherein the strip includes nailing flanges positionedlaterally outwardly of a group of ribs and wherein the nails are driventhrough said nailing flanges.

12. A water seal for the joint between the poured masonry material of apair of adjacent masses of such material presenting a broad liquidconfining working face, and comprising an integral strip of flexiblematerial for sealing said joint, said seal comprising a web lyingbetween said masses of said joint and substantially perpendicular tosaid face, said web being coextensive in length with the joint, andelongated rib means on opposite sides of said joint, said web being of alength substantially greater than the width thereof transversely of saidrio means, said rib means being coextensive in length with said web andsaid rib means including necks joined to said web and enlargements atthe ends of said necks remote from said web, said rib means projectingfrom the web a distance less than the width of the web and beingflexible with the web upon relative separation of the masses but havingsufiicient inherent rigidity to extend into the poured material withoutfolding thereof during pouring of the material and to be retainedtherein upon transverse joint separation, the longitudinal axes of saidrib means extending substantially parallel to said working face, andnailing flanges integral with the web and positioned along thelongitudinal edges thereof, said nailing flanges lying in a.substantially common plane offset from the plane of said Web and adaptedfor securing to a form 11 12 during pouring of the material for sealingthe rib means 2,139,851 Roberts Dec. 13, 1938 on one side of the webagainst the material being poured 2,228,052 Gardner J an. 7, 1941 alongthe other side Of the web. 2,277,449 Paine Mar. 24, 1942 2,282,829Schurman May 12, 1942 References Cited in the file of this patent 52,321,0 7 wi June 3, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENTS r 1,561,518 Graham..,Nov.,17,-1 925 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTIONPatent N0o 2,93? ,065 May 17 1960 Leroy Har-za et al..

It is herebj certified that error appears in the-printed specificationof the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the saidLetters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 3, line 45, after "water" insert stop column 5 line 29, for"thr0uge read through column 6 line 4L6 for "rims" read ribs -0 Signedand sealed this 1st day of November 1960 0 Atitesi;

mm, 1-18 AXLINE Aitesting Officer ROBERT C. WATSON Commissioner ofPatents

